and every colour is celebrated in this kitchen

Amazing trio roots gratin

We are officially in spring but NYC is still very cold and windy with occasionally snow storms. I start to really miss sunshine and seeing berries in my local farmers market.But good thing about winter that comfort food is totally allowed and even necessary in order to warm up your body and soul. But speaking about comfort food I don’t mean Mac and cheese or French fries. For me comfort food is something warm, colourful and nutritious.

This gratin is like a soft hug, that brings the best from all of my favourite root vegetables.

You know that you will feel amazing after eating this and the colours on your plate will be so vibrant, like a little sun, that we all need so much lately. This is for me ultimate comfort feeling.

As well trio of the butternut squash, parsnip and sweet potato work so well together and amazing vegan “béchamel” sauce that all the layers baked in just out of this world. It infused with thyme, slightly garlicky and sour and has real cheesy flavour thanks to nutritional yeast.You will feel so great and energised after eating this. Try it and we will find yourself making it over and over till the spring will kick in with a full force and bring all these new amazing seasonal veggies!

Nutritional yeast breakdown

It has a nutty, cheesy flavor and provides a wealth of vitamins, minerals and protein

Nutritional yeast is a complete protein, meaning that among the 18 amino acids it contains are the nine essential ones that your body cannot produce. Nutritional yeast also provides the compounds beta-1,3 glucan, trehalose, mannan and glutathione, which are associated with enhanced immunity, reduced cholesterol levels and cancer prevention. You get a significant dose of the minerals iron, selenium and zinc when you consume nutritional yeast. One serving of nutritional yeast provides about 4 grams of fiber, too.

Nutritional yeast is a source of B vitamins, including thiamine, folate, B-6 and niacin. Just 1/2 tablespoon of some brands will provide you with a day’s worth of B vitamins, while other brands offer between 30 and 100 percent of the B vitamins. These vitamins help you extract the energy from food and produce red blood cells. Many types of nutritional yeast are also fortified with vitamin B-12, which is usually found exclusively in animal products. For vegans, fortified nutritional yeast thus becomes a source of this nutrient

Slice all the veggies for the layers as thin as possible and leave aside for a moment

Preheat the yoven to 180 degrees

Drain cashews that you soaked and put all the ingredients for the sauce in blender, blend till completely smooth, taste and adjust to your preferences. Maybe you want to add little bit more of the lemon juice or nutritional yeast, feel free to create your perfect balance

Start layering your gratin. Put on the bottom sweet potato follow by parsnip and butternut squash. Pour your "béchamel" on top making sure that all the layers covered evenly. Cover it with foil and bake for an hour, after time is up try insert the knife on the middle and check, if veggies are soft is ready to go, uncover increase temperature in the oven to 220 degrees and leave for further 10 minutes for browning the top if this is desired. Remove from the oven, serve warm.